Research

Class size is one of the key indicators of early childhood education’s structural quality. Nationwide, the average class size has been declining since 2010; however, prior research has yet to reach a consensus on the effect of class size reduction. Based on a follow-up survey conducted in 2017 to 2018 of preschool children in a Northeastern county in China, this study utilizes a multilevel value-added model to identify the impact of class size on child development measured by the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDs). Once controlling the baseline EAP-ECDs score, the class size of the K1 classroom has no significant effect on children’s performance at K2; K2 children in smaller classes perform significantly worse in K3 than their counterparts in regular or large K2 classes. The subgroup analysis shows that K2 children from rural households, low socioeconomic status families, or public kindergartens benefit more in K3 if they attend regular rather than large K2 classes. The robustness check demonstrates that the results are robust under alternative definitions for structural quality and child development. Class size reduction can improve the structural quality of early childhood education; however, it has not produced a homogeneous, positive, and significant effect on child development. There is a need for future research to identify the mechanisms behind class size reduction. 

The KIDSCREEN questionnaires effectively assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children and adolescents and are widely used. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Mandarin Chinese KIDSCREEN-27 (KS-27) and KIDSCREEN-10 (KS-10) to meet the demand for shorter versions in China. We reanalyzed data from a cross-sectional survey of 4,385 adolescents (ages 11–17) conducted in Weifang City, China, in late 2016. A subsample of 841 adolescents was retested. We assessed the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the KS-27 and KS-10. We find that the KS-27 and KS-10 were completed in under 12.33 minutes, with a response rate exceeding 90%. Their psychometric properties were satisfactory, showing strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.786–0.881) and excellent test-retest reliability (ICCs: 0.590–0.842). Confirmatory factor analysis supported their intended structures, and they demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. Known-group validity was confirmed with medium to large effect sizes related to socioeconomic and mental health status. The results of KS-27 and KS-10 showed strong criterion validity when compared to the KS-52. The KS-27 and KS-10 in Mandarin Chinese exhibit excellent psychometric properties, making them suitable tools for measuring HRQoL in Chinese children and adolescents.

Understanding how older adults in China, amidst rapid population aging and significant rural-urban disparities in socioeconomic development and welfare support, allocate their time, provides important insights into their quality of life. Using the first nationally representative China Time Use Survey (CTUS) data in 2008, we apply multichannel sequence analysis (MCSA) and clustering methods to analyze daily activities and accompanied with whom simultaneously to depict the activity typologies of Chinese older adults. We found five distinctive typologies, namely “restricted social and diverse activities,” “family-centered, labor-intensive,” “limited sociability, paid work,” “active sociability, ample leisure activities,” and “multigenerational household.” Multinomial logistic regressions reveal that rural older adults are more likely to belong to the “restricted sociability, diverse activities” and “family-centered, labor-intensive” types. In contrast, urban older adults are more likely to be in the “active sociability with ample leisure activities” type. These results highlight the social inequality of the current Hukou system and indicate rural older adults’ relatively low quality of life, as they do more paid labor, have less leisure time, and experience more social isolation compared to their urban counterparts. By understanding the time use patterns of older adults stratified by the Hukou system, policymakers and practitioners can develop targeted interventions to improve the well-being of this vulnerable population.

This paper examines the role of returnees and domestic faculty on research productivity in an accelerated university under the background of higher education reform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Using the person-year panel data and difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that the returnees’ research productivity is significantly higher than that of domestic faculty. These gaps in research productivity between returnees and domestic faculty first enlarge and reach a peak in their mid-career, then tend to diminish over time. These results are robust to different robustness checks. By exploring the potential mechanisms through which returnee faculty play roles, we provide evidence of significantly negative spillover effects on individual outcomes and significant positive effects on departmental-level outcomes. Understanding these spillover effects sheds light on higher education reform policies designed to improve the whole scientific research efficiencies within such young universities.

This paper examines the impact of clans on Chinese elderly health. Using data from a nationally representative household survey in China, we find that clans are significantly associated with elderly mental health but surprisingly no effect on physical health. We then find that the daily care for children is insignificant in clans, but other social networks and activities play a prevailing role in the mental health of elderly people within clans. Finally, we resort to the explanation of physical health with the substitution of social insurance, as the formal institution. In this paper, we demonstrate the distinct effect of clans on elderly mental and physical health, and we find the heterogeneous function of formal and informal institutions.